Baliss was a feared, blind male adder who was rumored to be a descendant of Asmodeus Poisonteeth. Although he was unable to see, his other senses such as smell and hearing were quite intuitive.

Korvus Skurr made a pact with Baliss to instill fear into the Redwallers, sending some of his toads and reptiles to be eaten by the adder. Baliss was to go to the Abbey as an ambassador of Skurr and frighten the beasts inside; in return, he was to have every reptile and amphibian in Skurr's domain to eat. Everything went wrong, however, when Baliss encountered Corksnout Spikkle; unaware of the snake, the hedgehog was attempting to throw the body of a dead raven into a ditch when Baliss struck. Unfortunately, the blind adder confused the scents of hedgehog and raven and missed his strike; instead of biting the hedgehog, he ended up headbutting him in the rear. Several spines were embedded in the adder's head by the impact; as he had no means of removing them, they began to fester. Baliss went insane with agony and blamed all of his troubles on Korvus Skurr, as it was he who made the pact with him.

Out for revenge, Baliss attacked and wounded Vugri, and forced him to lead him to Skurr's lair. Along the way he came upon the Painted One, Jeg, and promptly devoured him. Upon arriving to the underground domain of Korvus Skurr, Baliss simply blocked the only entrance to the cavern, causing panic and anarchy among Skurr's followers. Eventually, he needed cold water to alleviate the pain from his injuries, so he sought out the underground lake that Welzz dwelt in, and, after battling the giant catfish, he managed to kill it with his fangs and coils.

Soon after, a battle ensued between the Doomwytes and a band of woodlanders consisting of the Gonfelins, Redwallers, and Guosim. Baliss, finally driven to insanity, began attacking all of the creatures in the cavern, but luckily the woodlanders escaped before the adder's rampage got underway.

Baliss was unable to escape the cavern due to a fire set in the entrance by the woodlanders. The cave collapsed and Baliss was crushed to death in the landslide caused by Zaran the Black and her allies.